The Journal of Positive Sexuality
by D J Williams, PhD
One of my favorite things about the field of social work has been its strong interconnections with other fields of study, including a full range of social and behavioral sciences. Social work formally utilizes a generalist approach, thus workers are trained to be able to respond effectively to a variety of client needs and potential problems. In doing so, ethical practice is emphasized, and social workers are admonished to challenge injustice, promote client self-determination, embrace human diversity, and practice with cultural competence (National Association of Social Workers, 2008).
Since 2008, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), which accredits all social work education programs in the United States, has required that social work students demonstrate mastery of specific competencies, referred to as Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). These competencies include a focus on ethical behavior (competency 1), embracing diversity and difference (competency 2), social injustice and human rights (competency 3), and the interconnectedness of research and practice (competency 4) (CSWE, 2015). EPAS competencies are designed to apply across social work education and practice.
In this paper, I will summarize scholarship on consensual bondage and discipline – dominance and submission – sadomasochism (BDSM) and briefly explain why this topic is relevant to social work practice. I will then discuss my frustrations in attempting to publish work on this topic within the field of social work. Apart from a notable exception in the journal Canadian Social Work (Williams, 2013), the topic of BDSM is absent from the social work literature. However, what is particularly surprising and disturbing to me, based on personal experience, has been the refusal of journal editors and reviewers to accept an accumulating empirical research literature on BDSM, which then results in manuscript rejection. I will discuss my experiences of manuscript rejection and editor/reviewer biases concerning BDSM shortly. Contemporary social work, after all, is predicated on EPAS core competencies, including those mentioned above, and also emphasizes evidence-based practice (CSWE, 2008, 2015; Rubin & Babbie, 2014). While I have occasionally encountered difficulty in getting specific manuscripts published, including on the topic of BDSM, it is only in the field of social work that I have faced consistent rejection.
BDSM Research and its Importance to Social Work
There is a long history in psychiatry of pathologizing BDSM and alternative sexual interests and practices, which can be traced to Richard von Krafft-Ebing and further reified by Freud (see Williams, 2013). However, numerous studies over the past few decades have shown that BDSM cannot be explained by psychopathology (for reviews, see Kleinplatz & Moser, 2007; Powls & Davies, 2012; Weinberg, 2006; Williams, 2006). Not only have empirical Journal of Positive Sexuality, Vol. 1, June 2015 © 2015 Journal of Positive Sexuality-Center for Positive Sexuality 38 studies demonstrated that BDSM is not associated with psychopathology (i.e., Connolly, 2006; Cross & Matheson, 2006; Richters, et al., 2008) or prior childhood abuse (Sandnabba et al., 2002), there is some evidence that BDSM may promote psychological benefits as a form of healthy leisure (Newmahr, 2010a, 2011; Prior & Williams, 2015; Taylor & Ussher, 2001; Wismeijer & van Assen, 2013).
Despite considerable research over the past two decades showing that BDSM participation is not associated with psychopathology, many helping professionals continue to marginalize and discriminate against clients who practice BDSM (Kolmes, Stock, & Moser, 2006; Wright, 2009). In the Survey of Violence and Discrimination of Sexual Minorities sponsored by the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Wright (2009) found that in a large sample of participants (N = 3,058) with alternative sexual identities (including BDSM and fetish enthusiasts), about 40% reported facing discrimination from a mental health professional and 50% experienced discrimination from a medical doctor. These findings illustrate the glaring need for sexual diversity training among helping professionals.
Clearly, there is much current interest in BDSM, thus social workers and helping professionals need to be informed. Nearly a decade ago, Kleinplatz and Moser (2006) estimated that up to 10 percent of the general population participate in some form of BDSM. Social workers, whether they recognize it or not, are highly likely to encounter numerous clients who participate in BDSM but who may seek professional help to address any of a range of diverse personal issues. People who enjoy BDSM, like anyone else, sometimes face typical issues, such as relationship difficulties, job / career decisions, loss and grief, and significant life transitions. However, such clients also could potentially seek help for BDSM-specific issues, including how to navigate alternative relationships or how to deal with stigma that many BDSM participants face. Informed social work professionals could be extremely valuable in helping these clients, including empowering, supporting and advocating for this population as needed.
Social Work Gatekeeping and Dismissal of BDSM Research
Considering where I am in my career (assistant professor currently applying for promotion and tenure), I have a fairly strong publication record with over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, including numerous papers on sexual diversity. Although the topic of BDSM is relevant to the field of social work, my experience has been that several editors and reviewers for social work academic journals are not open to this topic. One editor responded to a recent manuscript submission on the importance of social workers becoming informed about BDSM by simply writing, “This manuscript is not of interest to us at this time.” Similarly, another journal editor also rejected the manuscript “for lack of interest.” …